At seven in the morning, Qin Yan’s alarm rang on time, pulling him out of a night of heavy, unsettling nightmares.
Then he realized why he had been having nightmares.
“…”
The man’s expression shifted from a furrowed brow to a scrunched-up face, feeling as though the butt cheek that had been bruised yesterday was even more painful now.
He propped himself up slightly, glaring at the leg that was firmly pressed against his abdomen, as if trying to bore a hole through the flesh and bone with his gaze.
If that leg had been a few centimeters higher, he might have suffocated in his sleep.
The two pillows that had originally separated them had somehow ended up entirely under her butt at some point.
Qin Yan closed his eyes again, gritting his teeth. “Jiang Yu.”
Jiang Yu: “Zzzz…”
“Jiang Yu!”
Jiang Yu: “Zzzz…”
Qin Yan lay back down, gripping Jiang Yu’s leg through the thin blanket and slowly increasing the pressure. “Jiang Yu, is this what you meant by lying still like a corpse until dawn?!”
Jiang Yu woke up almost as soon as Qin Yan pinched her. At first, she could endure the pressure and pretend to be asleep. But soon, the pain forced her to face the awkward situation.
She opened her eyes, blinked at the ceiling, and for a moment couldn’t quite process what was happening.
Turning her head to glance in Qin Yan’s direction, she realized they were lying perpendicular to each other, like the X and Y axes intersecting.
Oh, what a disaster.
She remembered the death glare he had given her before falling asleep last night, as if saying, “Make one wrong move, and I’ll end you.”
Qin Yan let out a bitter laugh. “What, rising from the dead?”
Jiang Yu awkwardly chuckled as she retracted her leg, trying to appease him. “It’s just that being close to you, President Qin, made the corpse feel warm, as if it had come back to life.”
Before Qin Yan could fully lose his temper, Jiang Yu scrambled out of bed, quickly folded the blanket she had used, stuffed it back into the closet, and bowed repeatedly as she backed out of the room. “President Qin, after all, it was my leg that moved first last night. I’ll make a nutritious breakfast as an apology. You’re too handsome to hold a grudge against a beauty, so please don’t take it out on my leg.”
With that, she turned and sprinted away as if in a hundred-meter dash.
Once in the kitchen, she took out her phone to check the mission status:
「Beginner Mission 2: Spend 3 hours with mission target Qin Yan (Completed)」
「Beginner Mission 3: Prepare a meal for mission target Qin Yan (Incomplete)」
「Beginner Mission 4: Share a bed with mission target Qin Yan once (Completed)」
“Hmm, Beginner Mission 3 will be completed soon, too.”
Even in such a critical moment, she didn’t forget the organization’s mission. She really is a dedicated and hardworking model employee!
Jiang Yu placed a frying pan on the stove, turned on the heat, added oil, and cracked an egg.
When it came to household chores like laundry, cooking, and cleaning, she had never done any of them back in the Jiang family. But in the six months since her marriage, she had become proficient in all of them.
She complained inwardly to the system: I came to the Qin family as a bride, and they turned me into a housemaid. Sigh~
System: 【…】 Sometimes, even a cold machine feels like laughing.
By the time Qin Yan came downstairs, Jiang Yu had already set the table with an elegant breakfast for two: milk oatmeal x2, soft-boiled fried eggs x2, cheese slices x2, toasted bread slices x4, and a side of lettuce and cherry tomatoes.
Jiang Yu removed her apron, looked up at him with a smile, and said, “It’s ready to eat.” At that moment, she felt she must have exuded the kind of virtuous, motherly charm that men find irresistible.
As a result, the man’s 37-degree lips uttered only a cold, hard “Mm.”
Jiang Yu maintained a smile on the surface, struggling to suppress the urge to throttle someone.
Secretly, she gritted her teeth at the system: Next time you give me a task like this, I’m going to resort to poison!
System: 【Understood, host. Xiao’er will do my best to be a system that satisfies you!】
System’s inner monologue: The host either wants to harm herself or the chosen one of fate. Wuwuwu, my life as a system is full of threats!!!
Jiang Yu and Qin Yan sat facing each other, with nothing more to say. They simply ate in silence.
Having been hospitalized for so many days, Jiang Yu hadn’t eaten properly. Now, she was thoroughly enjoying her meal, her eyes fixed solely on the breakfast, completely ignoring Qin Yan.
The man ate slowly and deliberately, his distinct Adam’s apple bobbing up and down above the collar of his khaki shirt. Frameless glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. Through the lenses, his already sharp and cold features appeared even more detached and indifferent.
Occasionally, he glanced up from above his glasses at the woman across from him, who was devouring her food, wondering to himself what all these recent antics of hers were about.
“Have you already had breakfast?” Zhao Huiru’s voice interrupted Qin Yan’s thoughts.
Qin Huaiyu, wearing a sour expression, helped her mother downstairs. The sight of Jiang Yu eating so heartily made her blood boil. She hadn’t forgotten the humiliation from yesterday. While cleaning up the broken porcelain, she had nearly cut her hand!
Seeing her about to lose her temper again, Zhao Huiru quickly patted her hand, signaling her to restrain herself. Qin Huaiyu held back from outright cursing and instead adopted a sarcastic tone: “Sister-in-law got up so early to make breakfast for everyone? How hardworking. But Mom and I ordered the limited-edition breakfast set from Wangyue Zhai, so we won’t be partaking in your humble fare.”
Zhao Huiru played the good cop: “What are you saying!”
She first chided Qin Huaiyu, and the two sat down on the sofa before addressing Qin Yan and Jiang Yu: “Look at my memory! I meant to tell you yesterday not to bother making breakfast, as we could all share the meal delivered from Wangyue Zhai. But with everything that happened yesterday, it slipped my mind. I was thinking of telling you this morning, but it seems you’ve already eaten.”
Jiang Yu: ???
So it’s my fault that yesterday’s “heavenly shower” washed away your memory? And you’re implying to Qin Yan that he missed out on that supposedly amazing breakfast because I made this simple meal?
Why not blame the Big Bang on me while you’re at it?
No matter, sincerity is always the ultimate weapon. She snatched the fork from Qin Yan’s hand: “Husband, how about we pause our meal and join Mom for something fancier?”
Qin Huaiyu immediately objected. How could that be allowed?
Wangyue Zhai was the best Chinese restaurant in Bincheng, and their chefs had even participated in state banquet teams! Their breakfast was limited to fifty servings daily. They had barely managed to secure two portions. There was no extra for anyone else.
She instinctively wanted to retort, but Zhao Huiru stopped her again.
Qin Yan glanced expressionlessly at Jiang Yu, retrieved his fork, and spoke while looking at her, though his words were meant for the other two: “No need. I’m in a hurry to get to the office. This is perfectly fine.”
With that, he speared a cherry tomato and popped it into his mouth.
Hearing him say that, Jiang Yu felt much better and gave Qin Yan a doting look, like a proud mother watching her clever son.
Qin Huaiyu also breathed a sigh of relief.
But Jiang Yu cut her short: “What a shame, but it’s fine. Qin Yan may be in a hurry, but I’m not. I have a big appetite and can easily finish his portion, too. No waste at all!”
Qin Huaiyu was so annoyed she almost rolled her eyes. “Others are just being polite, and you actually take it seriously…”
She was interrupted by Zhao Huiru, who spoke gently, “That’s fine. If you’re still hungry, you can eat a bit more with us later. I’m getting older and don’t eat much, so you young ones should eat first.”
In the few minutes they were talking, Qin Yan had already finished his breakfast. He stood up and casually collected Jiang Yu’s used dishes as well, placing them in the dishwasher.
Jiang Yu couldn’t help but turn and raise an eyebrow as she watched his retreating figure.
A domineering CEO who knows how to use a dishwasher! His self-sufficiency skills must rank pretty high among CEOs, right?
After that, Qin Yan went upstairs.
Jiang Yu followed him up, ready to leech off some of his luck.
Just after completing the final beginner’s task of making breakfast, the app’s task interface had refreshed. The previously blurred-out tasks were now visible, and a new energy bar had appeared, showing her luck status in real time.
When the energy bar first appeared, it was almost empty. But just from sitting across from Qin Yan during breakfast, one-third of it had already been filled with a translucent, dark color.
In other words, as long as she stayed near Qin Yan, she could absorb some of his luck.
But Jiang Yu wondered: Why is it translucent?
System: 【Only the luck points earned by the host through completing tasks belong entirely to the host and are displayed as solid green. The temporarily borrowed luck points are shown as translucent.】
“Something wrong?”
Qin Yan was tying his tie when he looked up and saw Jiang Yu standing by the door, as if she were plotting something mischievous.
“Nothing at all. I just came up to walk off the food. I’ll be going back down soon to compete with them… I mean, to keep them company for another meal.”
—
“Mom! Why are you indulging her like this?” Qin Huaiyu was displeased. She had never liked Jiang Yu. After last night, her dislike had turned into outright disgust.
“You’re a grown woman now. When will you learn to think things through?” Zhao Huiru poked her daughter’s forehead in frustration. “If you want to deal with Jiang Yu, there are plenty of opportunities. Why must you do it when Qin Yan is around? Some things shouldn’t be done so blatantly. It leaves evidence.”
Qin Huaiyu was still fuming, her face sullen and unwilling to speak.
Zhao Huiru softened her tone. “Once you become the young mistress of the Zhou family and we have the Zhous as our powerful backers, won’t it be easy to deal with Jiang Yu or Qin Yan? These days, just focus on your thoughts. After marriage, it won’t be like living at home. You can’t afford to act recklessly anymore.”
At the mention of marriage, Qin Huaiyu finally took her mother’s words to heart. Thinking of the young master Zhou’s appearance, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
As they spoke, Qin Yan and Jiang Yu came downstairs. Jiang Yu, like a considerate wife, saw him out the door.
Secretary Fang’s car was already waiting outside the courtyard.
Jiang Yu deliberately smiled and waved at the driver’s side window, greeting Secretary Fang.
Secretary Fang recalled the incident with the slit-throat action and instinctively shrank his shoulders, then reluctantly rolled down the car window to offer Jiang Yu an awkward smile.
After Qin Yan’s car drove away, Jiang Yu glanced at her phone. Good. Now her luck meter had filled up to two-thirds. She should have a bit of good fortune on her side now, right?
Just then, the breakfast from Wangyue Zhai arrived. She put away her phone and brought the takeout back inside.
She took a look. It was indeed quite lavish, though the portions were small.
In total, there were only six steamed dumplings, two pieces of crystal glutinous rice lotus root, and two servings of pumpkin oatmeal porridge.
She wasn’t particularly interested in the rest, but she had heard that Wangyue Zhai’s crystal shrimp dumplings were delicious. She wanted to try them.
“Everyone says Wangyue Zhai’s steamed dumplings are amazing, especially the crystal shrimp ones. But they only serve them for breakfast, and the flavors are randomly packed. You can’t just pick and choose what you want to try.” Qin Huaiyu snatched the breakfast from Jiang Yu’s hands, spread it out on the dining table, and called out to Zhao Huiru, “Mom, come try a dumpling. Who knows what filling it is?”
As she ate, Zhao Huiru asked Jiang Yu, “You and Qin Yan yesterday…”
Jiang Yu picked up a pair of chopsticks and naturally sat down at the table with Zhao Huiru and her daughter. Before they could react, she skewered two plump dumplings with her chopsticks.
Just as Qin Huaiyu was about to explode in anger, Jiang Yu had already taken a bite of one dumpling. “Oh wow, it’s all shrimp filling. So fragrant.”
—
In the car.
The scenery outside the window rapidly receded, and the Suzhou-style garden architecture gradually disappeared from the rearview mirror.
The man sitting in the back seat closed the file in his hands and adjusted his frameless glasses. “Is Wangyue Zhai’s breakfast hard to order?”
Secretary Fang had no idea what his boss was up to now and replied in a very official tone, “It’s a bit difficult for others to order, but if it’s for you, Mr. Qin, they’d be happy to reserve a portion for you every day… no, as many portions as you want.”
Qin Yan frowned. “Why?”
Secretary Fang couldn’t keep up the act any longer. “It’s the restaurant you invested in, don’t you remember?! What are you playing at here?! I’m driving, don’t push me!”
Qin Yan: “Oh.”
“From now on, have two breakfasts delivered to Shengjing Huayuan every day at seven.”
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sarcastisaurus On CFRFGC Chapter 102